Varying wages for today’s employees can mean the difference between the amount one

employee recieves with a higher level of education, over another with less education but more

experience. Many employees have been looked over for a promotion in organization’s today

simply because they do not have the level of education needed for that position. Today 79% of

employees earn a wage between $10,000 to $30,000 with an average level of education that is

only a 12th grade level.

Article one describes how numerous fire departments have now changed and are now

requiring new officers to have a minimum of an associate’s degree in the field before being

hired. Chief officers are required to have bachelor’s degree, and the department chief should

have a master’s degree. Fire department officers that have been in the profession before all these

changes took place are now required to get an education and the departments even pay for half of

the costs.

The difference between earning is considered in the amount of education level an

individual has over their experience level. One officer that has been in the department for 10

years with only a high school level education will not be eligible to be promoted to a chief

officer and a higher amount of pay unless that person completes the level of college education

needed. Many fire departments are hiring new individuals with no experience that have college

degrees over individuals who have years of experience but no degrees.

Another article describes how individuals that abtain higher educational backgrounds do

so to increase their wages. Although many people might want to make sure they do not over

educate themselves, not only due to the increased cost of schooling but because they could be

considered over qualified for a position they are seeking. Many organizations are looking for
qualified individuals with the proper education to hire in certain fields and with those

qualifications the organization has less of a cost for initial training for those individuals hired.

Some studies have shown that organizations look at current educational levels as apposed to

education an individual received 10 years ago, and could require more education for that

individual.

References:

Education VS. Experience. (2006). Fire Engineering, 159(a), 40. Retrieved from EBSChost.

Rubb, S. (2003). Post-college Schooling, Overeducation, and Hourly Earnings in the United
States. Education Economics, 11(1), 53-72. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.